REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

BRANCH ___
7th JUDICIAL REGION
DUMAGUETE CITY

ALEXANDER WARD MARTIN,

Plaintiff,

-versus- Special Civil Action No.

__________________

CRESCENCIANA P. TAMAYO For: Section 107 of PD 1529.

SURRENDER OF
WITHHOLD DUPLICATE
CERTIFICATES
Respondent.
x----------------------------------------------/

PETITION TO SURRENDER OF WITHHOLD DUPLICATE

CERTIFICATES

PLAINTIFF, by counsel, to this Honorable Court, respectfully aver: That –

1. Plaintif, Mr. Alexander Ward Martin (herein referred to as Plaintiff

for brevity), is of legal age, ________ citizen, and residing at
____________________, where he can be served with notices and
other court processes at said given address or through undersigned
counsel, at latter’s address herein given below;

2. Defendant, Mrs. Crescenciana P. Tamayo (herein referred to as

Defendant for brevity) is of legal age, Filipino, and resides at
_________________ when in the Philippines and ____________
when living abroad;
3. In _________;

4. The Original Certificate Title is under the name of JOSE N.

BRIONES, who died in sometime in the year 1977. By virtue of an
Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate, Partition and Sale executed on
April 26, 2013, Notarized on the same day by Atty. Jeffrey T. Araula
in accordance with Doc no. 263, Page No. 58, Book No. XVII, Series
of 2013; the Heirs of JOSE N. BRIONES partitioned Lot 2938 into
two (2) Lot Nos. 2938-A and 2938-B. Lot 2938-B was partitioned in
favor of the heirs of Proferia Briones, Crisostomo Briones, Cornelia
Briones, FLORENCIA BRIONES, and Isidro Briones, this created
Lots 2938-A, B, C, D, and E. Above-mentioned Extrajudicial
Settlement of Estate, Partition and Sale is annotated on OCT Title No.
17339. FLORENCIA BRIONES, the Plaintiff’s grandmother,
received 2938-E, a photocopy of which is attached as Annex “B, B1,
B2, B3, and B4” and made as an integral part hereof;

5. As per Subdivision Plan PSD-07-087996 conducted on September

16, 2012, Lot 2938 was subdivided further which created other sub-
lots as well as creating Lot 2938-E-2 which is the portion inherited by
FLORENCIA BRIONES. Above-mentioned Subdivision Plan is
annotated on OCT Title No. 17339, a photocopy of which is attached
as Annex “C, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5” and made as an integral part
hereof;

6. On December 10, 2016, the Plaintiffs received a letter from one,

Estrella S. Tindoc, the only heir of Cornelia Briones, telling the
Plaintiffs that the family has decided to partition the co-owned
property, Lot 2938, and that as heirs of FLORENCIA BRIONES the
Plaintiffs would be given 1/6th share of Lot 2938 with a total area of
TWO THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED THIRTY FOUR (2,634) Square
meters in the form of Lot 2938-E-2 pending further partition between
 the Plaintiff, LUZVIMINDA CRUZ, and her brother, ALEXANDER
LALAS. This Letter is herein attached as Annex “D, D1, D2, D3 and
D4”;

7. Plaintiffs acquired the subject property by virtue of an Extrajudicial

Settlement and Deed of Absolute Sale executed on October 13, 2017,
notarized on the same day by Atty. Aldo Muñoz in accordance with
Doc No. 242, Page No. 50, Book No. XIV, Series of 2017, a
photocopy of which is attached as Annex “E, E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6,
E7, E8” and made as an integral part hereof. The above-mentioned
Extrajudicial Settlement and Deed of Absolute Sale executed on
October 13, 2017 settled the Estate of FLORENCIA BRIONES who
died in August of 1965, to her daughter JEAN ABANTE who at the
time had also been deceased, dying in May 6, 2013 as the sole heir.
JEAN ABANTE was survived by only two (2) heirs namely:
LUZVIMINDA CRUZ and ALEXANDER LALAS. On the same
instrument both ALEXANDER LALAS, through his attorney-in-fact,
Lea Lalas, and LUZVIMINDA CRUZ partitioned Lot 2938-E-2 into
two (2) Lots, namely: Lot 2938-E-2-A which was given to
LUZVIMINDA CRUZ and Lot 2938-E-2-B given to ALEXANDER
LALAS. Simultaneously on the same instrument Lot 2938-E-2-B was
sold by ALEXANDER LALAS in favor of LUZVIMINDA CRUZ;

8. The Plaintiffs immediately paid the capital gains tax on Lot 2938-E-2-
B, a copy of which is attached as Annex “F, F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6,
F7, F8, F9, F10, F11, F12”. The Plaintiffs also paid the property taxes
of entire property, Lot 2938, and have transferred the name of the Tax
Declaration in the name of LUZVIMINDA CRUZ due to the fact that
she was the one paying all property taxes for the family, a copy of
which is attached as Annex “G, G1, G2, G3, G4, G5”;
9. Prior to the above mentioned partitions, JEAN ABANTE had been
residing on the property from birth, in 1938, until 1950 when her
family left for Manila to find employment. There had been structures
erected on Lot 2938-E-2-B since the time her family left Negros
Oriental, and through the years more structures had been built.
Despite being born and residing in Bulacan, JEAN ABANTE’S
daughter, LUZVIMINDA CRUZ, remained in contact with her
family, concerning Lot 2938 and was well aware of her mother’s
ownership of the above-mentioned parcel of land. In fact, the
Plaintiffs are in physical possession of the Owner’s Duplicate Title
of Lot 2938, OCT Title No. 17339 as it was entrusted to them by the
family for safekeeping while the individual heirs and families process
the registration and titling of their respective inherited properties;

10.The Plaintiffs JOSEPH FIGUEROA CRUZ and LUZVIMINDA

LALAS CRUZ were married in January 31, 1997. Sometime in 2006
the Plaintiffs returned to Negros Oriental with JEAN ABANTE due to
an offer by JEAN’S first cousin, EVANGELISTA VERUASA to buy
Lot 2938-E-2-B. EVANGELISTA VERUASA is an heir of Porferia
Briones who owns Lot 2938-E-5 as per the Extrajudicial Pertition and
Settlement executed by the family. However, no sale was made
between JEAN ABANTE and EVANGELISTA VERUASA during
that time and thus the Plaintiff’s constructed a house on their property
with the intention of residing there. The Plaintiffs then left the
province again in 2007 for employment and financial reasons. A copy
of a picture taken in 2006 by the Plaintiffs of themselves, JEAN
ABANTE and the house is herein attached as Annex “H”.

11.As of the filing of this complaint the said house built in 2006 by the
Plaintiffs still remains on the property. A copy of a picture taken in
2017 by the Plaintiffs of their house still erected is herein attached as
Annex “I, I1, I2, I3”
12. Since receiving the letter and family extrajudicial partition and
settlement in 2016, LUZVIMINDA CRUZ and her brother,
ALEXANDER LALAS, agreed that LUZVIMINDA would manage
his property with the intention of selling his share to his sister. In
2017, the Plaintiffs decided to return to Bacong, Negros Oriental to
reside permanently. The Plaintiffs arrived in Negros Oriental on
January 7, 2017 and found out that there were persons occupying Lot
No. 2938-E-2-B. The Defendants, had entered a portion of the land
with the view of inhabiting already existing structures and building
further structures over the same. Plaintiff believes that an heir of
EVANGELISTA VERUASA namely: EMELDA ROSE, believing
that her mother had already purchased Lot 2938-E-2, without any
authority over Lot 2938-E-2, as mentioned in paragraph 10, leased
parts of the property to various persons including Lot 2938-E-2-B
which was leased to the Defendants;

13.The Plaintiffs demanded that the Defendants vacate the property and
entered such incident in the Police Blotter of the Municipality of
Bacong Police Station covered by Entry No. 218 dated September 23,
2017, herein attached as Annex “J”.

14.In an attempt to deter any more usurpers of their property, the

Plaintiffs hired workers to install a bamboo and hog wire around the
property. However on September 23, 2017, while the said workers
were installing the fence, the Defendants confronted the workers and
threatened them to stop work since they were leasing the property
from EMELDA ROSE, who they claimed had title to the property.
The Plaintiff and their workers then entered such incident in the
Police Blotter of the Municipality of Bacong Police Station covered
by Entry No. 217 dated September 23, 2017, herein attached as Annex
“K”
15.Plaintiffs confronted Defendants and made oral demands on or about
January 2017, to vacate the premises. As a result there are a number
of persons occupying the property who have made separate
agreements with the Plaintiffs to continue to remain on the property
either by paying rent or any act to that effect. Sometime in October
2017 one of the Defendants CALOY EYANA received money to
agree to vacate the subject property, but soon after changed his mind
and attempted to return the money;

16.Defendants ignored any demands to vacate or settle even whilst

documentation proving Plaintiff’s ownership of the property was
furnished to them. Thus, the Plaintiffs resorted to bringing the issue
before Barangay Captain Andres S. Tindoc. During the multiple
hearing dates, all four (4) Defendants attended the sessions intended
to resolve the issues. However no settlement was reached between the
Plaintiffs and the Defendant, and thus the Barangay Captain was
forced to issue a Certificate to File Action on October 30, 2017 herein
attached as Annex “L”. The lupon sessions conducted by the
Barangay captain included the names of all four (4) Defendants, but
the Certificate to File Action only contained the name of one
Defendant CALOY EYANA. The Plaintiffs requested that all the
names of the Defendants be written on the Certificate to File action
but Barangay Captain Andres S. Tindoc refused to do so, stating that
CALOY EYANA presented himself as representative of all
Defendants since they are all living in one residence on the subject
property;

Cause of Action: Accion Publiciana

Deprivation of Real Property, Damages, Attorney’s fees,
and Legal Expenses
 17. An Accion Publiciana by its nature is to recover possession only, not
ownership.1 Unknown to the Plaintiffs, the Defendants have occupied
the parcel of land without any prior permission or notice given to the
Plaintiffs as owners or other family members having ownership of Lot
2938;

18.That the plaintiff have a right as owners of the property to use and
reside the property. This includes the right to deprive others without
authorization from the use thereof. That the Defendants, without
authority, have the obligation of respecting that right. That the
Defendants have violated the Plaintiffs’ rights as owners and in doing
so damages have been incurred at the expense of the Plaintiffs;

19. For ejectment cases to prosper, the Plaintiff must show: (a) that they
have prior physical possession of the property, (b) that they were
deprived of possession either by force or intimidation, threat,
STRATEGY or STEALTH.2 It is clear that the Defendants, without the
knowledge of the Plaintiffs, took advantage of their prolonged
absence and took possession of Lot No. 2938-E-2-B;

20.For a long period of time the Defendants have taken possession of the
property and have presented themselves as having leased the property
from a person with title, despite having no documentation of any kind
proving such;

21.Despite being given time to reconsider their position, defendants

obstinately and unlawfully refused to vacate the subject property, as
well as to remove the illegal structures thereon, much to the damage
and prejudice of herein plaintiffs. Thus, defendants have unjustly and
continuously deprived plaintiffs of their legal right to possession and
enjoyment of the subject property.
1
Asuncion Urieta Vda. De Aguilar vs. Spouses Alfaro, G.R. No. 164402, July 5, 2010
2
DeLa Cruz vs. Court of Appeals, 539 Phil. 158, 170 (2006)
 Article 539. Every possessor has a right to be respected
in his possession; and should he be disturbed therein he shall
be protected in or restored to said possession by the means
established by the laws and the Rules of Court.3
22.Being owners of the subject property, Plaintiffs should be placed in
possession thereof, and defendants should be ordered ejected
therefrom as soon as possible in order to prevent further damage on
the part of the Plaintiffs. Despite being in Manila and Bulacan for
long periods of time the Plaintiffs remained to have possession over
the subject property by virtue of their juridical acts in relation to the
property and by coming back to build a house on the property.
23.Even if the Plaintiffs were not in the same locality at the time the
Defendants entered into the property the Plaintiffs are still deprived of
their possession. In Nunez vs. SLTEAS Phoenix Solutions 4, it was
stressed by the court; responding to the issue that the land in question
was idle and unguarded, that “Although it (the owner of the property)
did not immediately put the same to active use, respondent appears to
have additionally caused the property to be registered in its name…
and to have PAID THE REAL PROPERTY TAXES due thereon”
(Emphasis Supplied)
24.The Defendants continued possession of the subject property is
patently illegal, a blatant violation of Plaintiffs’ title thereto. The
Defendants are not relatives, nor heirs of JOSE N. BRIONES, nor
have any documentation showing their authorization to stay on that
property;
25.The Plaintiffs, despite executing the Extrajudicial Settlement and
Deed of Absolute Sale on October 13, 2017, which is a few months
after the discovery of the Defendants taking possession of the
property, always had title thereto as the heir of the estate in which the
property was included, further settled and partition. The plaintiffs
have always intended to finalize the process and paperwork of the
3
Article 539 of the Civil Code of the Philippines (RA no. 386)
4
G.R No. 180542, April 12, 2010
 property since the death of JEAN ABANTE in 2013, and the only
reason such was not attended to is because the Plaintiffs were in
Bulacan and had only recently moved back to Negros Oriental;
26. It is clear that the Defendants have no claim over the property, they
have not presented any proof whatsoever of their title to the property.
The Plaintiffs on the other hand have (a) inherited the property
through legal means, (b) have paid the property taxes, (c) is named on
the tax declaration of the property as owner and (d) has physical
possession of the Owner’s Duplicate Original Certificate Title of Lot
2938, OCT Title No. 17339. Until the date of filing this complaint the
Plaintiffs have not been able to enter the subject property due to the
interference and threats of the Defendants;
27.In order to protect Plaintiffs’ interests, Defendants should be made to
pay reasonable compensation for their continued illegal use and
occupation of the subject property, in the amount of ONE HUNDRED
TWELVE THOUSAND (112,000) Pesos representing TWO YEARS
and FOUR MONTHS of illegally possessing the property, calculated
from January 2017, plus FOUR THOUSAND (4,000) PESOS per
month from the time of the filing of this complaint until the subject
property is actually vacated, and their illegal structures removed,
which amount should be consigned with this Honorable Court;
28.The Plaintiffs have incurred damages by the actions of the Defendants
in the form of:
a. Moral Damages: By reason of Defendants inactions to rectify
the problem with Plaintiff, who made numerous attempts to
resolve the issues but was denied at every attempt, Plaintiff
suffered tremendous worries, several sleepless nights, wounded
feelings, due to the inactions of the Defendants, which the
Defendants should be held liable to pay as moral damages in
the amount of not less than TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND
(25,000) PESOS;
b. Exemplary Damages: Defendants unlawfully holding property
of the Plaintiffs. As a deterrent to Defendants from again
committing the same or any other similar unlawful actions and
to deter other persons who are similarly minded, Defendant
 should be held liable for exemplary damages in the sum of
TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND (25,000) PESOS;
c. Legal Expenses: For this judicial recourse, Plaintiff was
compelled to engage the services of the undersigned counsel
and he has agreed to pay the sum of FIFTY THOUSAND
(50,000) PESOS as attorney’s fees plus ONE THOUSAND
(1,000) PESOS for appearance fee for every appearance of
counsel in this case, as well as the cost of the filing fee of the
suit;

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, it is most respectfully prayed of this Honorable Court, to

render judgment in favor of the plaintiffs and against the defendants,
DIRECTING the defendants, as follows:

1. to vacate the subject property and remove their structures thereon;

2. Jointly and severally, to pay the plaintiffs, by way of reasonable
compensation for their continued illegal and unlawful use and
occupation of the subject property, in the amount of ONE HUNDRED
TWELVE THOUSAND (112,000) Pesos representing TWO YEARS
and FOUR MONTHS of illegally possessing the property, calculated
from January 2017, plus FOUR THOUSAND (4,000) PESOS per
month from the time of the filing of this complaint until the subject
property is actually vacated, and their illegal structures removed;
3. Jointly and severally, to pay attorney’s fees in the amount of FIFTY
THOUSAND (50,000) PESOS;
4. Jointly and severally , to pay moral damages in the amount of
TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND (25,000) PESOS;
5. Jointly and severally, to pay exemplary damages in the amount of
TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND (25,000) PESOS;
6. Jointly and severally, to pay the cost of the filing fee for this case,
which the Plaintiffs were forced to resort
Plaintiffs likewise pray for such other relief as are just and equitable under
the premises.

Municipality of Bacong, Province of Negros Oriental, Philippines, this

_______________

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED.
 LAW OFFICE OF ATTORNEY RAMACHO
Counsel for the Petitioners
By:

Nathan Joseph P. Ramacho

Counsel for the Complainant-Appellant
Roll No. 65300
PTR No. 0842753, 1/07/2019, Bacong, Neg. Or.
Lifetime IBP No. 1042150, 12/20/2016, Dumaguete City
MCLE Compliance no. VI- 0009236, Valid until April 14, 2022
Office Address: Kilometer 6.5, Banilad, Bacong, Neg. Or.

CONFORME:

JOSEPH FIGUEROA CRUZ LUZVIMINDA LALAS CRUZ

Complainant/Plaintiff Complainant/Plaintiff

Copy furnished:
ATTY. CYNTHIA SULIT-PORTUGALEZA
Rm. 204, 2nd floor., Portal West,
Hibbard Avenue corner Silliman Avenue
Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental

FOR the following:

Sps. Norma Podiotan & Abner Podiotan
National Highway, Barangay San Miguel,
Bacong, Negros Oriental

VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION ON NON-FORUM SHOPPING

 WE, JOSEPH FIGUEROA CRUZ and LUZVIMINDA LALAS
CRUZ, both of legal age, and residents of Barangay San Miguel,
Municipality of Bacong, Province of Negros Oriental, after having been duly
sworn in accordance with law, hereby depose and state that:

1. We are the plaintiffs in this case. We caused the preparation of this

Complaint and have read and understood the contents thereof, the
allegations therein being true and correct of our own knowledge and
belief based on authentic records;

2. We certify that we have not commenced any other action or court

proceedings involving the same issued in the Supreme Court, the
Court of Appeals, or any other tribunal or agency;

3. Should we hereafter learn that a similar action or proceeding has been

filed or is pending before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or
any other tribunal or agency, we undertake to report this fact to this
Honorable Court within five (5) days from notice of such fact.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature below this

_____________, at the Municipality of Bacong, Province of Negros
Oriental, Philippines.

JOSEPH FIGUEROA CRUZ LUZVIMINDA LALAS CRUZ

Complainant/Plaintiff Complainant/Plaintiff

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ______________,

in the Municipality of Bacong, Negros Oriental, Philippines, by the above-
mentioned COMPLAINANTS who have satisfactorily proven their identity
by presenting:

NAME ID
JOSEPH FIGUEROA CRUZ Comelec Voter’s ID VIN: 1410-0517A-F0666JFC10001-5
LUZVIMINDA LALAS CRUZ Social Security System ID no. 03-9762930-1
, as competent proof of his identity, known to me and to me known to be the
same persons, personally signed the foregoing Verification and Certification
Against Forum Shopping, acknowledged to me that the same is his free and
voluntary act and deed, and avowed under penalty of law to the whole truth
of said instrument.
 SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me this ______________,
in Bacong, Negros Oriental, Philippines, exhibited to me their respective
proof of identification as set forth below their names.

Doc. No. ___;

Page No. ___;
Book No. IV;
Series of 2019